A moral examination of Judah Benjamin--one of the first Jewish senators, confidante to Jefferson Davis, and champion of the cause of slavery "This new biography complicates the legacy of Benjamin . . . who used his nimble legal mind to defend slavery and the Confederacy."--New York Times Book Review "A cogent argument for acknowledging, rather than ignoring, Benjamin's role in both Jewish and American history."--Diane Cole, Wall Street Journal Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884) was a brilliant and successful lawyer in New Orleans, and one of the first Jewish members of the U.S. Senate. He then served in the Confederacy as secretary of war and secretary of state, becoming the confidant and alter ego of Jefferson Davis. In this new biography, author James Traub grapples with the difficult truth that Benjamin, who was considered one of the greatest legal minds in the United States, was a slave owner who deployed his oratorical skills in defense of slavery. How could a man as gifted as Benjamin, knowing that virtually all serious thinkers outside the American South regarded slavery as the most abhorrent of practices, not see that he was complicit with evil? This biography makes a serious moral argument both about Jews who assimilated to Southern society by embracing slave culture and about Benjamin himself, a man of great resourcefulness and resilience who would not, or could not, question the practice on which his own success, and that of the South, was founded.

A moral examination of one of the first Jewish senators, confidante to Jefferson Davis, and champion of the cause of slavery Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884) was a brilliant and successful lawyer in New Orleans, and one of the first Jewish members of the U.S. Senate. He then served in the Confederacy as secretary of war and secretary of state, becoming the confidant and alter ego of Jefferson Davis. In this new biography, author James Traub grapples with the difficult truth that Benjamin, who was considered one of the greatest legal minds in the United States, was a slave owner who deployed his oratorical skills in defense of slavery. How could a man as gifted as Benjamin, knowing that virtually all serious thinkers outside the American South regarded slavery as the most abhorrent of practices, not see that he was complicit with evil? This biography makes a serious moral argument both about Jews who assimilated to Southern society by embracing slave culture and about Benjamin himself, a man of great resourcefulness and resilience who would not, or could not, question the practice on which his own success, and that of the South, was founded.

Reveals the breadth of Jewish participation in the American Civil War on the Confederate side. Rosen describes the Jewish communities in the South and explains their reasons for supporting the South. He relates the experiences of officers, enlisted men, politicians, rabbis and doctors.

This biography was acclaimed by The New York Times as "deeply interesting" and "an absorbing account" of the life of the man called "the brains of the Confederacy". 16 pages of illustrations.

A rare Sephardic Jew in the Old South and a favorite of Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Benjamin has been described as “the brains of the Confederacy.” He held three successive Confederate cabinet posts—attorney general, secretary of war, and secretary of state—but some have questioned Benjamin’s loyalty to Davis and the extent of his influence. More than 140 years after Benjamin first appeared on the Confederate scene, historians still debate his place in the history of the Lost Cause. Robert Douthat Meade’s absorbing account of the life of this enigmatic Civil War figure, who built a second brilliant career in England after the war, remains the definitive study of Benjamin.

A legal biography of Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884): Jewish lawyer, US Senator, Confederate statesman, political exile, leader of the English Bar, inspiration for Benjamin's Sale of Goods and distinguished jurist With a foreword by Stephen C. Neff, Professor of War and Peace, University of Edinburgh This is the first biography written from a legal perspective on the public life of Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884); a prominent figure in the common law world in the second half of the 19th century. Drawing on a range of primary source materials including newspaper articles, case law and extensive archival research in the UK and USA, it charts his rise as a lawyer first in the mixed legal system of Louisiana and then nationally. In 1853 he was the first person of Jewish heritage to be offered nomination to the US Supreme Court - an honour he declined. Benjamin was also a member of the US Senate, a slave owner and a supporter of Southern secession. In the Civil War he served continuously in the Confederate Cabinet initially as Attorney General, then as Secretary of War and finally as Secretary of State. Following the victory of the Union he fled America, a fugitive. In political exile in England he requalified as a Barrister at Lincoln's Inn. Within a decade he had written a scholarly and long-enduring treatise on commercial law and become the undisputed advocate of choice in appeals before the House of Lords and the Privy Council. This book considers the extraordinary career of this distinguished jurist and reflects upon his legal legacy. Key features: -Based on extensive research in the UK and USA, it draws on a broad range of primary source materials, including British and American newspapers - Reflects on some of Benjamin's most significant cases - Provides insights into the personal and professional qualities which permitted him to fashion two separate legal careers in different continents - Clarifies how Benjamin's two notable contributions to legal literature, first in Louisiana and then in England, provided a springboard for his rise as a practitioner in each jurisdiction - Outlines his high profile, controversial, political career in America which was bookended by his accomplishments in the law in - Reflects upon Benjamin's enduring legacy as a jurist in contrast to his diminishing visibility in American political history William (Bill) Gilmore is Emeritus Professor of International Criminal Law in the University of Edinburgh and a former Dean and Head of its School of Law. In 2017 he was awarded the medal of honour of the Council of Europe for his contributions to European efforts to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This is his second book of legal history.

Levine sheds light on such hot-button topics as what the Confederacy was fighting for, whether black southerners were willing to fight in large numbers in defense of the South, and what this episode foretold about life and politics in the post-war South.